Middle School Programs

The middle grades programs build on concepts that students learned in Junior Achievement’s elementary school program and help teens make difficult decisions about how to best prepare for their educational and professional future. The programs supplement standard social studies curricula and develop communication skills that are essential to success in the business world. Volunteers teaching middle school programs can find helpful tips on our Volunteer Resources page.

JA Economics for SuccessJA Economics for Success provides practical information about personal finance and the importance of identifying education and career goals based on a student’s skills, interests and values. Program Details | Standards Correlation

JA It’s My Future
JA It’s My Future provides practical information about preparing for the working world while still in middle school. Following participation in the program, students will be able to explore potential careers and develop personal branding. Program Details | Standards Correlation

JA Finance Park, presented by Transamerica
JA Finance Park is an innovative financial literacy simulation that introduces young people to personal financial planning and career exploration. Through the program, students can participate in this powerful hands-on experience. Students first build their skills in the classroom with four weeks of teacher-led lessons; then they put what they’ve learned about economic options and budgeting into practice through a role-play scenario. Students will assume randomly generated life situations with an assigned job, age, marital status, income and educational background. They then face the realities of successfully developing a budget, maintaining a household and pursuing a career. Program Details | Standards Correlation

JA Global Marketplace Blended Model
JA Global Marketplace Blended Model introduces middle school students (Grades 6-8) to the global marketplace and the ways in which countries buy and sell from each other. Through completion of this program, students will gain an understanding of producers and consumers in the interconnected global market. They will analyze the similarities and differences among countries and the effects of free enterprise.Program Details | Standards Correlation

JA It’s My Business! Blended ModelJA It’s My Business! Blended Model provides middle school students an opportunity to learn how to turn an idea into a business. The program introduces students to the process of design thinking as a problem- solving process and provides an authentic entrepreneurial experience for students with each session building toward a product-pitch competition. Program Details | Standards Correlation

JA Start It Up
JA Start It Up immerses students in the world of business by challenging them to develop a proposal for a new flavor concept of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn, targeted for a market of their peers. Guided by a volunteer, students work together in teams to practice entrepreneurial thinking and experience the creativity, sense of accomplishment and excitement that comes with solving a real-world business challenge. Program Details